The First
by Snow.Yuna
Summary: Things become... complicated as Serah and Chris are each ripped away from their own missions in life and thrown together against something that is simply too much for any normal person to be expected to handle. Their worlds are melting together, and faces from the past crop up to be dangled in front of them, out of reach. They stand together, ready to beat the darkness back.


Serah wasn't one to complain about things she had no control over. Not for very long, at any rate. Get branded as a monster just by innocently exploring a seemingly abandoned ark? Pretty bad, but, with a bit of help and tons of crying and feeling emotionally distraught, she came to terms with it. Being blessed with the suck that is getting visions of the future and simultaneously having your lifespan shortened by who the hell knew how much, all in the name of restoring a timeline you never screwed up in the first place? Not ideal, but, as long as she had a chance to get her sister back, she could roll with it. And, hey, she even landed a few new friends out of the gig.

Still, as the pain of being thrown face first into what felt like a brick wall receded ever so slowly, she couldn't help but groan from her place on the ground and think, _'You know, just once I wish I could have a day where I didn't have a monster trying to crush me. Or fry me. Or worse.'_

Colorful flecks still spun around in her vision as she attempted to pick herself up into something that resembled a fighting stance, and she stumbled against a wall, feeling for Mog, hoping that if she'd dropped him he would have the good sense to fly over to her and reform for an easy grab 'n slash. He was usually pretty good about that. And then she realized that it had been a while since anything had made even the slightest menacing noise, and, even if it had decided to stay stock still or run away, she should be hearing Noel. He would either be conjuring up a Cure spell or shouting at the top of his lungs to get the target's attention away from her while she recovered. She felt no magic from him, she heard nothing... from anyone.

As her vision cleared she whipped her head around, immediately realizing what a grievous mistake that was as it made her feel like the contents of her stomach were about to wind up on her shoes. When the nausea passed, she, as quickly as she could without feeling sicker than if she'd gnawed on an Ochu's underbelly, scanned the area for any signs of life, dangerous or not.

So, imagine her surprise when she discovered that, not only was the monstrously tentacled Cie'th she and Noel had been attempting to slay gone, but so were her friends. Serah fished a potion out of her pocket to help get her head on straight before she attempted to solve the issue. After she'd knocked it back, she tentatively took a few steps in the direction she and Noel had come from.

"Noel? Mog? Hello?" This wasn't good. Not only was she now weaponless, but who knew what dangers could've happened to Noel or Mog while she was out? She knew for a fact that even if Noel had managed to defeat the thing while she was unconscious, he wouldn't scout ahead without at least leaving Mog behind to hover over her as he seemed inclined to. Something bad must have happened. Something real bad. She needed to find them now.

Having decided that there was no sense in sitting here all alone in the open worrying, she steeled herself and stepped of in the direction the Cie'th had appeared. If it had done something to them, there was a chance it had taken them back to whatever hole it had slithered out of. It was better than anything else she could think of at that moment.

She felt naked without Mog nearby, and not having Noel comment on the most likely places a creature would be hiding was just downright eery. It also messed with her confidence a bit. She knew that she relied on Noel, but she'd not really given much thought as to how extensively she'd done so. She certainly didn't enjoy feeling this helpless again. She hadn't felt like this since she'd been initially branded.

"FUCK!"

Serah immediately spun on her heel and readied her arms to cast the biggest Fire spell she'd ever mustered, but she froze as gunfire rang out in the distance. It was a little far, and it didn't really sound like Noel- the voice was too deep, for one- but whoever this man was, he needed help. And he was the only other living person she'd ever even heard of in Oerba. She didn't need to think on it too long before she sprinted off in the direction of the cursing and gunfire.

As she rushed through the crumbling skeletons of ruined buildings, she summoned up Protect and Shell, and both helped to alleviate her misgivings about what was sure to be an upcoming battle. She knew she was nearly there because she could clearly hear a sickening thunk that she quickly associated with a mutated Cie'th arm whacking a guy in the torso. Or some other body part. This did not bode well. She could see it- a big hulking mass of crystalized, rotting flesh. It was swinging its arms rather wildly at a large man in strange clothes, but it appeared weakened and on its own. Maybe, if she could finish it off quickly enough, they could both escape before any of its friends came along.

She was still a ways away, but she could make out that the man was running toward rubble that was stacked so conveniently, she almost thought it was made to be a well fortified hiding place. She gathered up her strength and began the process of calling up her spell. She felt the all too familiar heat of her power lick its way through veins, almost burning her up from the inside until, "Firaga!"

A fireball erupted from her palm, travelling in an arc that allowed it to drive right into the thing's shrieking face, exploding outward and engulfing the thing's body. She ran to the man as fast as her legs could carry her. It was almost funny. She hadn't thought this rescue would be so anti-climactic. As she came upon the man, she saw him clutching his side and breathing heavily. He was battered, but he wasn't broken. She was already beginning to call forth another spell as she walked.

He eyed her warily. "Heh, thanks." He seemed to be puzzled about something, though Serah couldn't guess what. "What kind of get-up are you wearing? You a private company or are you just a trigger happy good samaritan?"

"Here," Serah said as she allowed Cure to seep through her fingers and into his skin. There was no need to fling it at him, and she liked to comfort with touch as well as magic. Actually, she preferred it. She nearly laughed as his eyes widened. They looked as though they might pop out of his head at any moment.

"How did you-"

"I'm not a l'Cie," she interrupted. "My name's Serah. What's yours?"

After spending a few moments patting himself down, seemingly amazed, he replied, "Chris. Chris Redfield. I'm looking for my sister, Claire." A beat. "L'Cie?"


End file.
